gardYsh

gardYshis a stage adaptation exploring the whacky, weird and strangely dark stories of noted hindi satirist harishankar parsai. though parsai's writing dates back to the early 60’s, his stories have not lost their relevance or power. the three stories are woven together into an interactive game show format with exaggerated acting styles, characters and live music. the stories bring the past and present together while raising compelling questions about the future. these whacky stories deal with corruption, red-tape, media frenzy, mob mentality, events, related-hype and ample doses of re-worked epics portraying iconic characters and situations in a new light. with a generous spattering of fun songs, spoofs and indianYsh –“nowadays and all how we are talking English” - gardYsh is an absolute laugh-riot for all ages, making it a wholesome, family entertainer. the play also urges us to reflect on the world that surrounds us. gardYsh makes people laugh and think over and over again.

gardYsh was first performed at the alliance francaise auditorium, chennai, in 2011 and at the museum theatre, chennai in 2011 as part of the world theatre day celebrations.

take a look at photographs from "the first smuggler," performed at svanubhava 2013, at kalakshetra auditorium, chennai, on august 2, 2013

the first smugglerthe play has mythical characters on stage dealing with a contemporary concept of corruption in a satirical way. when lakshman is injured, ram sends hanuman to bring the sanjeevanam herb to help in lakshman’s recovery. hanuman flies across the mountains and returns with the herb, but gets caught on the outskirts of ayodhya by the ever alert ayodhya customs and central excise department check post officials for flying without the proper permission. in a hilarious scene, hanuman confronts the corrupt customs officials demanding a bribe and explains to bharat, brother of ram, that the herbs are being carried across for the benefit of his brother lakshman. With the definition of 'illegal activities' changing as per convenience, the first smuggler is a satire on corruption, raising questions of who is really corrupt.

ten day fastbannu covets savitri, the wife of radhika prasad. bannu is trying to get her to leave her husband and live with him but can’t, because savitri can’t stand the sight of bannu’s face. bannu settles down for a fast unto deathtill savitri comes to him. over ten days bannu fasts, alternately grappling with pain over savitri’s hardhearted behaviour and hunger pangs. over the course of the fast “millions” of virtuous people demand that bannu’s life must be saved. what begins as a means to obtain 'an unattainable goal' becomes the centre of attention. the press joins the bandwagon and call on the government to help bannu end his fast. the opposition parties join the outcry and the prime minister issues a statement regarding bannu’s fast. over time the reasons for the fast get lost and the controversy and hype surrounding it gain importance. ten day fast is a comical take on the madness and the hype surrounding fasting, and is a satirical take on contemporary events of the 1960s which still hold relevance today.

the first bridgethe first bridge takes us on a journey all the way back to the mythical age of the ramayan. king ram, distraught after sita's kidnapping, joins hands with the monkey king sugriv. sugriv's army is busy finding ways and means to reach lanka, and come up with the idea of building a bridge across the indian ocean. architects nala and nila put their heart, soul and sweat into getting the bridge ready in record time. ram is astonished, as he had expected that the bridge construction would take forever. just as everyone, especially the monkey army, is rejoicing over the idea of crossing the ocean over the bridge, comes a bomber of a decision from sugriv. the first bridge is a hilarious satire on the mindless protocols, the unwarranted ceremonies, the relentless spending by heads of state and the plight of the people with an inefficient government.

gardYsh @ live in august 2013gardYsh I on august 10 at spaces & gardYsh II on august 22, at alliance française auditorium, chennai @ 7.30 p.m.

we performed at the live in august festival, an initiative by theatre lovers from chennai, with the whole month of august dedicated to the celebration of live performing arts in venues around the city.

gardYsh means the struggles, travails and the ups and downs of life. an evening of thought provoking, funny, satirical, whimsical, thought provoking writing from various writers around the world.